1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of wagering apparatus, wagering games played on that apparatus, and especially bonus-type game events played on video wagering game apparatus.
2. Background of the Art
Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are most likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting of the machines. The trend in video slot play is towards games with better graphics and sound features and that are more entertaining. Operators consequently strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines available, because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator. Accordingly, in the competitive gaming machine industry, there is a continuing need for gaming machine manufacturers to produce new types of games, or enhancements to existing games, which will attract frequent play by enhancing the entertainment value and excitement associated with the game.
One concept which has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is the concept of a “secondary” or “bonus” game which may be played in conjunction with a “basic” game. The bonus game may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome of the basic game. The bonus game is entered upon the appearance of a special symbol combination on the reels of the slot machine in the basic game. The triggering event is usually a winning event, whose award includes credits and entry into the bonus event. In the bonus game, the probability of winning combinations appearing on the reels, or the “hit rate,” is much greater than that of the basic game. The player is permitted to keep playing and accumulating winnings from the bonus game until a losing trial occurs. Such a bonus game produces a significantly higher level of player excitement than the basic game because it provides a greater expectation of winning than the basic game and is accompanied with more attractive or unusual video displays and/or sounds.
Because the bonus game concept offers tremendous advantages in player appeal and excitement relative to other known games, and because such games are attractive to both players and operators, there is a continuing need to develop new types of bonus games to satisfy the demands of players and operators. Preferably, such new bonus games will maintain, or even further enhance, the level of player excitement offered by bonus games heretofore known in the art. Numerous bonus events are already known in the gaming industry and the video wagering game industry in particular.
Yoseloff, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,179,711 and 6,454,651 describe generic bonus events in which multipliers in excess of 2 can be provided in second screen bonus events.
Bennett, U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,178 discloses that it is normal in machines of the type having multiple pay lines available, that the player purchases the option of playing for a win on lines other than the center line. In order to add further player interest, the game is also provided with a random feature whereby under certain circumstances, a further combination of symbol positions; referred to as the “mystery line”, will be randomly selected by the machine's controller to give the player another winning opportunity. A prize is paid to the player in the event that a predetermined combination of symbols is displayed on the “mystery line”.
Thomas et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,255 describes a bonus event known in the art as “Pick Until You Pop,” in which a number of player selectable symbols are provided on a screen, usually in a bonus mode. The symbols are selected by the player, and then the award behind the symbol is revealed. The bonus event or game event ends when a result behind a symbol is revealed that has the property of ending the bonus whenever that result is revealed. The “end bonus event” is typically a winning event.
Schneider et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,976 describes a gaming apparatus and method including a primary game and a player interactive bonus game actuated by a qualifying outcome of the primary game and including a bonus award display showing a multiplicity of images displayed on a video monitor from which a player selects until achieving a pair of matched bonus awards. The matching of symbols results in a payout. This method of play is referred to in the art as “Pick Until You Match.”
Vancura, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,059,289 and 6,033,307 describe a method for playing a bonus game in a secondary slot machine adjacent a primary slot machine. The primary slot machine issues a bonus qualifying signal to the secondary slot machine to start play of a bonus game when a bonus qualifying event occurs. The reels of the bonus game include value symbols, null symbols, and end game symbols which may be of two basic types: a lose game symbol and a stop game symbol. After the random spin, the values of any value symbols displayed on the pay line of the secondary slot machine are accumulated into an accumulated winning value. The value symbols could include positive integer values, negative integer values, and multiples. The random spinning, determination of values of any value symbol and the accumulation of a winning value is repeatedly continued until an end of the bonus game occurs. The invention provides two adjacent gaming machines. In the preferred embodiment, the gaming machines are slot machines and each slot machine employs physical reels with stops that have equal probabilities of landing on each reel position and wherein each reel has a predetermined number of stops. In the primary slot machine, a bonusing qualifying event is used to enable a player to play the secondary slot machine containing the bonus game. The bonusing game on the secondary machine proceeds in a cumulative fashion with the player stopping when special “lose” or “stop” play symbols appear on the pay line, when the player issues a stop signal, when a predetermined amount of winnings occurs, when a predetermined number of spins occurs, or any combination thereof.
Slomiany et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,098 also describes a bonus game for a gaming machine with two types of awards. The bonus game includes a plurality of selection elements, a number of which are associated with an award of coin(s) or credit(s) and a number of which are associated with an end-bonus penalty. The game is played by selecting a number of the selection elements, one at a time, until encountering a selection element associated with an end-bonus penalty which ends the bonus game. A first award type in the bonus game is a selection-based award in which the player is credited an amount of coin(s) or credit(s) based on the value (or cumulative value) of the selection elements selected in the bonus game. A second award type in the bonus game is a quantity-based award in which the player is credited an amount of coin(s) or credit(s) based on the number of successful trials of the bonus game.
Baerlocher et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,664 describes a bonus scheme for a gaming device, which presents a plurality of indicators to the player. Each indicator may be a success indicator or a failure indicator based on a pre-determined probability. Upon or prior to the selection of the indicator, the processor in the gaming device determines, based on that probability, if the indicator is a success indicator or a failure indicator. When a player selects an indicator, the gaming device displays if the selected indicator is a failure indicator or a success indicator and a value associated with the success indicator.
The player selects indicators until the player selects all of the success indicators or the player selects a failure indicator. Accordingly, based on chance and the pre-determined probability, a bonus round may include all success indicators and no failure indicators to increase player excitement and enjoyment.
Hughs-Baird et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,995 describes a gaming device having a bonus round with multiple selection groups. The bonus round does not end upon an “end-bonus” selection; rather, the bonus round ends upon the selection of a predetermined number of selections from the last or final selection group. In one embodiment of the present invention, the number of selections is determined from a selection group preceding the final selection group. Prior to determining the number of final selection group picks, the game provides the player with at least one selection group in which the player selects award indicators until selecting an indicator that advances the player to the next selection group. Player excitement and enjoyment is enhanced because the invention provides the player with multiple opportunities to achieve game credits and because the player is guaranteed to have at least one opportunity to select from the final selection group. In one embodiment, the final selection group has larger values than the previous selection groups.
Kaminkow, U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,375 describes a gaming device bonus round that contains a plurality of groups each having a plurality of selections that the player can pick and receive an award. The groups and selections form a theme that provides enjoyment and excitement to the player. The game enables the player to pick a predetermined number of selections from each group. After the player picks from each selection group, the game uncovers, reveals and awards an award hidden underneath and the awards of selections that the player did not choose. The bonus round includes audio and visual displays, in accordance with the game theme, that either direct or follow along with the player's progress of the bonus round. As the player proceeds through the bonus round, the game accumulates the awards and displays the accumulation at the end of the round.
Baerlocher, U.S. Pat. No. 6,569,016 describes a gaming device that contains a plurality of awards each having a value, a plurality of activators, a plurality of deactivators, and a set of indicators from which the activators and deactivators are chosen. The activators, deactivators and indicators are numbers. The controller of the gaming device randomly selects one of the indicators. If the plurality of activators includes the selected indicator, the player receives the value of an award. Conversely, if the plurality of deactivators includes the selected indicator, the player does not receive the value of an award. If the plurality of activators or deactivators is sequential, e.g. 1 through 5, the activator set or deactivator set can include a selected integer, for example 3, or a non-integer, for example 3.5. The implementer of the gaming device may predetermine the activators and deactivators or may add another layer of random generation, whereby the gaming device randomly selects the activators and deactivators from the set of indicators. In either case, the implementer can set the probability of success for each award to be any probability, 0 through 100%.
Baerlocher et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,830 describes a bonus round of gaming device in which the player either wins that which the player does not select or the player selectively replaces one award with another award with the hopes of maximizing an ultimate award. In the embodiment wherein the player wins that which the player does not select, one or more selections are made from the plurality of symbols, and the game provides awards assigned to the unselected choices or symbols. In the replacement embodiment, the game replaces the award of a selected symbol with an alternative type of award. In one example, the awards assigned to the unselected symbols are gaming device credits, while the converted or replaced awards assigned to selected symbols are multipliers. After replacement, the game sums the credits, sums the multipliers and multiplies the credits by the multipliers to produce an ultimate award.
Hughs-Baird et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,854 describes a gaming device having a bonus round with multiple selection groups. The bonus round does not end upon an “end-bonus” selection; rather, the bonus round ends upon the selection of a predetermined number of selections from the last or final selection group. In one embodiment, the number of selections is determined from a selection group preceding the final selection group. Prior to determining the number of final selection group picks, the game provides the player with at least one selection group in which the player selects award indicators until selecting an indicator that advances the player to the next selection group. Player excitement and enjoyment is enhanced because the present invention provides the player with multiple opportunities to achieve game credits and because the player is guaranteed to have at least one opportunity to select from the final selection group. In one embodiment, the final selection group has larger values than the previous selection groups.
Kaminkow et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,599,185 relates to a method and gaming device having a multiple selection and award distribution bonus scheme. A selection is chosen from a group of selections. The present invention determines awards for distribution to the selection. Once determined, the awards are distributed to the selection and a player is provided with the awards. The present invention preferably utilizes a number of award pools in order to determine the award distribution. This award pool determination is based on, for example, a number of probability tables associated with the award pools.
Baerlocher et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,602,136 describes a bonus scheme for a gaming device, which involves a symbol marker, which advances along one or more paths. The paths include a plurality of symbols and one or more path change conditions. If a path change condition occurs, the symbol marker moves from one path to a different path. While advancing along certain paths, the player has the opportunity to gain bonus value depending upon which symbol the symbol marker visits. This type of bonus scheme increases player excitement and joy for gaming devices.
Bennett, U.S. Pat. No. 6,572,471 describes a slot machine with a cabinet including a prize display, a coin entry slot, and a payout tray and internally mounted game control processor circuits. The game display comprises a video display screen controlled to display a game image divided into a matrix of elements or player selectable zones. The video screen is preferably of the touch sensitive variety, having an array of touch sensitive areas located on its display surface with one such area associated with each matrix element. The player may select one of the matrix elements by touching the screen within the area of the respective element to be selected, thereby causing the image in the element to change to reveal whether or not a prize value is associated with that zone.
Bally Gaming “Poker Plus” game. This is a video game with a bonus event that has been published since at least about 1984. When a four-of-a-kind hand is achieved, a bonus event is entered. To win the bonus event, specific cards in the four-of-a-kind set of cards must be selected upon command. All cards are initially viewed, the cards are turned face-down and ‘shuffled,’ the command to select a specific card (both rank and suit are identified), and the player makes a selection by exercise of controls. The proper selection provides a bonus doubling the win on the four-of-a-kind play without risking the award. Each successive request then identifies another card in the set of original four-a-of-a-kind, and the existing awards are again doubled. There is no mention or suggestion of a specific preview of the awards that are possible in the bonus event, but merely identifies the symbols from which a selection is eventually made. The individual symbols do not have a specific relationship to value or awards.
A Carnival wagering game is known as “Three-Card Monte” in which three cards of different identity (e.g., suit and/or rank) are shown to players. The dealer then turns the cards face down, dexterously rearranges the cards, and challenges the player to select a specific card and place a wager on that selection. There is no specific value on the individual cards, but they are displayed to the player prior to the rearrangement.
In spite of the variety of games and bonuses that are presently described in the literature, there is always room for improvement and the addition of features that attract and maintain the interest of players.